Flexitarian Lifestyle Guide to Brighton
Food & Drink Lifestyle
Book Top Experiences and Tours in Brighton:
If youʻre booking your trip to Brighton last minute, we have you covered. Below are some of the top tours and experiences!- London: South Downs White Cliffs Day Trip with Train Tickets
- Brighton: Brighton i360 Ticket
- Brighton: Walking Food Tour (Vegan and Vegetarian options)
- From Brighton: Seven Sisters and South Downs Tour
- Brighton: Royal Pavilion Admission Ticket
What is Flexitarian Diet?
Flexitarian diet offers the benefits of a vegetarian diet while still enjoying meat when the craving comes. It also means that you don’t have to eliminate any foods; there is the flexibility to eat animal products in moderation. Due to its flexible nature and focus on what to include rather than remove, the Flexitarian diet is a popular choice for people looking to eat healthier.
It’s based on these principles:
- Eat mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.
- Concentrate on protein from plants instead of animals.
- Create your meal from scratch, most natural form of foods.
- Limit sweets and added sugar.
Eating flexitarian provides these health benefits:
Weight Loss
Flexitarians limit high-calorie, processed food and eat more fruits, vegetables and plant foods that are naturally lower in calories (source).
Cancer Prevention
Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes all have nutrients and antioxidants that may help prevent cancer. Research suggests that vegetarian diets are associated with a lower overall occurrence of all cancers.
Good for Environment
Eating less meat can help preserve natural resources by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, water and land we use.
According to the research on the sustainability of plant-based diets found that switching from the average Western diet to flexitarian eating, where eating meat is partially replaced by plant foods, could decrease greenhouse gas emission by 7%.
However, a flexitarian diet might bring possible nutrient deficiencies, such as:
- Zinc
- Vitamin B12
- Iron
- Calcium
- Omega-3 fatty acids
Therefore these nutrients could be added by high-quality substitutes mentioned below.
Food to eat regularly include:
- Non-starchy vegetables: carrots, cauliflower, greens, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower.
- Starchy vegetables: sweet potato, squash, corn and peas.
- Proteins: soybeans, tofu, legumes, tempeh and lentils.
- Whole grains: teff, quinoa, buckwheat and farro.
- Fruits: oranges, apples, berries, grapes and cherries.
- Nuts, seeds and other healthy fats: almonds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, peanut butter, avocados, coconut and olives.
- Plant-based milk alternatives: unsweetened almond, hemp, coconut and soy milk.
- Herbs, spices and seasonings: oregano, basil, mint, thyme, turmeric, cumin and ginger.
- Condiments: reduced-sodium soy sauce, salsa, mustard, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, ketchup without added sugar.
- Beverages: tea, coffee, still and sparkling water.
Flexitarian shops
Brighton & Hove has got numerous shops offering foods and supplements supporting flexitarian lifestyle, including:- Infinity Food – a wide range of 100% vegetarian & organic foods, cosmetics and household items.
- Harriet’s on Hove – plastic-free and plant-based foods.
- Grape Tree – whole natural foods, superfoods and 100% organic range.
- Guarana Shop – premium Guarana, Fairtrade, superfoods, supplements and health products.
The town runs regular Vegfest offering new vegan products, cooking shows, presenters and fitness activities.
Restaurants are expanding flexitarian options
Brighton’s Curry Leaf Café was listed amongst the Olive Magazine top Flexi restaurants. Not surprisingly as the Indian cuisine flourishes in vegetarian cooking, other Indian restaurants such as Chilli Pickle, Indian Summer, The Bali Brasserie has menu weighted towards meat-free dishes.
If you’re interested in solely vegetarian restaurants, we can recommend Terre a Terre, Food for Friends and Purezza.
Even traditional restaurants and pubs offer many vegetarian dishes. For instance, The Ivy in the Lanes offers Vegetarian & Vegan menu. The Prince George pub is famous for delicious Vegetarian Sunday roast and falafel burger.
Whatever diet you follow, it’s important to include exercise as a part healthy lifestyle. There are many potential solutions to flexitarian diets; you might just start slowly by choosing to have two-meet free days a week. In summary, flexitarian diets are easy to follow, offer many nutritious and are more affordable.
